Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman (left) speaks at a news conference at a hotel near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang on March 9, 2014. Malaysia Airlines said on Sunday it now feared the worst for its missing plane carrying 239 people, more than a day after it went missing, and was working with a United States company that specialises in disaster recovery. -- PHOTO: AFP

KUALA LUMPUR (REUTERS) - Malaysia Airlines said on Sunday it now feared the worst for its missing plane carrying 239 people, more than a day after it went missing, and was working with a US company that specialises in disaster recovery.

"In fearing for the worst, a disaster recovery management specialist from Atlanta, USA will be assisting Malaysia Airlines in this crucial time," the airline said in a statement.

The flight carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew was presumed to have crashed off the Vietnamese coast on Saturday, after losing contact with air traffic controllers off the eastern Malaysia coast.